California dreamin'

Highlights from our trip to northern California to visit Mom & Dad:

--Mom & Dad's condo overlooked Mt. Tamalpais and was right over the water, so we had a stunning view. Rachel loved pounding on the sliding glass door (she doesn't have a lot of hand strength yet so it wasn't dangerous) and looking at herself in all the full-length mirrors in the living room.

--We found a fabulous playground in Tiburon. It had a spongy surface, a small climbing wall, a steam shovel built into the sandbox and a cooking play structure built into the concrete. Plus there were lots of toy cars to push around. It made me immediately want to relocate. Rachel gingerly sat on Mom's & Dad's laps at the park, then scared them by pitching head-first down the slide and crawling through a tunnel, which she did over and over and over again. It was like she wanted to master it before going on to the next thing.

--We spent time at the Discovery Center, a fantastic kid's museum complex that started life as an old Army barracks. Rachel had a great time splashing her hand in a raised stream bed, crawling up some cushions that had been fashioned in the shape of an ant hill, and pouring gravel into a hard hat that Mom held out to her.

--Rachel and Drew were sick with colds, but Rachel slept like a champ in an unfamiliar crib right next to us. We were very impressed! It appears that we may, indeed, be able to take family vacations together. Camping during the summer of 2010, anyone?